James Martin has finally buried the hatchet with his estranged father after years of no contact following damaging claims made about his stepmother in his memoir
James Martin is said to have ended his lengthy feud with his dad ahead of his wedding to longtime girlfriend Kim Johnson. The star popped the question to Kim in December last year after vowing to never walk down the aisle.
And it looks as though his proposal prompted him to reconcile with his father Ian. According to reports, the TV chef cut off all forms of contact with his dad in 2008 after he claimed his stepmother burned every ounce of his childhood, including baby pictures, in the original version of his memoir Driven.
In his book he wrote that she was the “ugliest woman” he had ever met in his life. However, after extracts of his autobiography were serialised before the nationwide release, the TV personality apologised and the original version was removed from bookshelves.
But James’ efforts were a little too late at the time and his relationship with his dad took a major blow. After their fall out, it seemed unlikely that the pair would end their rift any time soon as James said that he and his father are both “too stubborn.”
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But now, according to his father, the pair have buried the hatchet. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ian said: “There’s no estrangement.”
And within his brief chat with the publication, their relationship was described as “as good as ever.” A source told The Sun: “It’s been a long road, but James’s stance has softened with time.”
They added: “The pair of them have slowly rebuilt bridges over the past couple of years. Now they’re able to look forward rather than dwell on the past. Both have realised life’s too short to carry on not speaking.”
This comes after he once revealed that the one good thing from his autobiography was his fall out with his father. He once told the publication: “The only good thing from [my autobiography] was the realisation I would never speak to my father again.”
“I’ve accepted he will never be a part of my life. I spent 12 years trying to get on with him. You never knew what was around the corner,” he said.
He went on to add: “It was always something like getting divorced or remarried, or a new woman. It was just relentless. I thought, ‘I’ve had enough of this. I’m just going to separate completely’.”
Now James’ father will no doubt play a major role at his wedding. The star’s decision to marry is a complete U-turn to when he vowed to never walk down the aisle. He previously said: “Marriage doesn’t interest me in the slightest.”
But it has now been reported that Kim, who has been dating James since 2024, has made him the happiest he has ever been and so he decided to marry her.
James has been the presenter of his Saturday Morning show since 2017. And while the viewing figures continue, it seems his mother Sue has one criticism.
In a chat with IrelandLive, he said: “Usually my mum phones me up and says, ‘That shirt looks s*** – you can’t wear that again’. That’s usually the comment I get on Saturday Morning – ‘What the bloody hell are you wearing that shirt for?’ That’ll be the one, after all these years.”
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